The
exploration of political construing (in PCP
terms) involves using PCT as a
theoretical framework in order to understand,
and make sense of, those events affecting the realm of life that we
usually
call "psychological" by those events and decisions in the realm of life
that we
usually call "political". Political construing helps reduce tensions
about so
called irrational behavior. Politics makes sense only on the assumption
that it
is a highly rational effort fulfilling the objective needs of society.
Therefore it discounts human behaviors which are seen as irrational. On
the
other hand, psychology deals with human conduct that is difficult to
understand, often labeled as irrational. PCP claims to solve the
problem
between the claims of politics and aims of psychology, claiming that
every
behavior is rational, having an ad interim logic not necessarily
understandable
from the point of view of perceiver. The label of irrationality in PCP
is
construed as evidence that behavior is not understood properly, and
therefore a
need for better understanding of "irrational" behavior in politics is
advocated.

Both
politics and psychology are concerned with a process of change. In both
of them
change is desirable, whether called political progress or psychological
development, respectively. Both areas are concerned with the undesired
effects
of change - disorders (e.g. bloodshed in politics; mental disturbance in
psychology). Political construing
helps the understanding of the implications of those situations, when
desired
change in one of these fields induces undesired effects in the other –
as in
the case of transitions. Transition as a political term refers mainly
to
periods in which an important aspect of state organization is being
changed;
its aim is to change outer circumstances in order to produce desired
effects. Transition in PCP refers to
the states in which someone's construct system is
subjected to revision or replacement, aimed at change in personal
meanings.
Reconstruction, the desired change of meaning in PCP, means that what
we call a
change in the outer world is not reached only by the change of the
inherent
properties of world itself, but in addition a change of meaning that we
ascribe
to that world. If political changes are not followed by psychological
reconstruction of meaning, they can produce further anxieties and
tensions
instead of targeted welfare.

Stojnov,
D. (1996): A Personal Construction of War in Yugoslavia: Transition as
a way of
life. In: B. Walker & D. Kalekin-Fishman (Eds.), The construction of
group realities – culture, society, and personal construct theory,
95-103.
Malabar, FL:Krieger.